Before You
by DarkAngel0410
Summary: The first time Alex met Chris, he knew it was the start of something different. Slash, AU. Prequel to 'Mine'.


**Story Title:** Before You

**Story Type: **Slash, AU

**Characters: **Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Petey Williams

**Pairings: **MMG, brief Sabin/Petey

**Rating: **PG-13/NC-17

**Series: **Mine

**Disclaimer: **Definitely not mine. They belong only to themselves/TNA.

**Warnings: **Slash, language, au

**Prompt: **_Chris and Alex's story from the 'Mine' 'verse -from the time they first meet until Alex breaks Chris's collarbone. _

**A/N: **This is Chris and 'Lex's story from 'Mine'; it's a prequel for the series, but you don't need to have read that one to understand this. Enjoy, peeps, and let me know if you liked it.

**A/N2: **So, this is for the awesome energy_purple. Sorry it took so long; apparently, vamp!Shelley is just as emo as regular Shelley -as well as being a huge attention whore. He's lucky we love him so much, lol. Hope you like it, sweetie.

Alex slowly headed for the address his Maker had given him, along with his usual orders.

"_Make an example of his friend, Alexander; remind him why no one dares defy me."_

The usual "orders" had been dragging on Alex lately, there was no denying it. He was tired of carrying out orders; had been for years. Alex hid it well -his instinct for self-preservation was too strong for anything else- but it had been growing steadily worse.

For longer then he cared to think about, Alex's only thought had been to please his Maker. Within a few short years after he had been Turned, Alex was his Maker's right hand man -and his sword. Whenever Shanne had to call for Alex to come to him, everyone gathered knew someone was about to die. And badly.

Shanne had a few other vampires he kept close to him, but there was no denying Alex was his favorite. Alex didn't question orders or his Maker's choice in victim. From the moment he knelt at his Maker's feet, he was all business. Once he was told who was to be punished, he left and went straight to deal out Shanne's "justice". When he was done, he would come and present himself; one knee bent, his arm braced on his leg and his head bowed to show his knowledge that Shanne was more dominant then him.

He was usually covered in blood -head to toe since Alex knew the more they bled the more Shanne liked it- and it had been decades before he had thought to question his Maker's choices for him.

By the time it had occurred to him, he was already numb to everything he had done. His hand had allowed Shanne to cast the dice for the rest of his life and now Alex had to live with it.

If anyone had dared to really _look_ at Alex, they would have seen the dead gaze, the lack of anything resembling emotion, the constant state of apathy that had become his reality whenever he wasn't killing someone on his Maker's say so.

But no one dared to; they steered clear of him, leaving him to his silence and loneliness. It had been his world for so long that the idea of anything changing would have given Alex his first real laugh in years.

But lately there had been this strange restlessness tugging at him. Alex knew it was only a matter of time before something inside of him snapped -and he also knew anyone unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire would see first hand the monster that was barely leashed.

He forced the thought from his head; he couldn't afford it right now. Routine or not, getting distracted was the easiest way to have his head separated from his shoulders, and he wasn't quite ready to face the true death yet.

Alex walked along the back alleys easily. He had grown and lived in this part of the city before he was Made. For the first time in almost two decades, he cast his memory back to when he was still human. The images were blurry, indistinct; like watered down photographs that were too faded to even see what color they might have been.

Alex mentally shook himself; his human life meant nothing to him now. He had his purpose, he had his "orders" for the day. He would go meet the unfortunate boyfriend of the person who had raised Shanne's ire, finish his duty to his Maker and then go back to his own company.

He could only hope that it would be a long time before he had to deal with anyone again.

Alex picked his way across the street, easily dodging the people milling around. It was never difficult; most people instinctively knew what he was and avoided him. The moment a predator's focus was on them, everyone's first reaction was to hide until they couldn't sense him any more. Even humans knew when they were prey -and the smart ones got away from the the threat they knew was around.

Pausing, Alex tilted his head to the side. Something felt off to him for a moment; he felt a jolt to his system as he neared the address and it took him by surprised. He took a second to reevaluate himself and found nothing different. Mentally shrugging, he continued on his way, his mind focused back on his task.

Once he reached the building, Alex carefully walked around it, keeping to the shadows, noting all the exits and entrances. Only one of each -the entrance in the front and the exit in the back, as usual- and four decent sized windows placed evenly through out the bottom floor.

It was one of the newer buildings in the area, only ten years old or so, and Alex had never been inside before. Of course, he never came here unless he was hunting; either for himself or his Maker. Although, lately, Alex hadn't really felt the need to hunt for himself. He fed once every week or so, but he no longer killed anyone when he did. He didn't need it -in fact, he suspected he had _never_ needed to kill, even when he had still been a newborn- and he didn't enjoy hurting people. For him, it was just a means to an end; he didn't get off on it, not like his Maker did, so he avoided it until it became necessary.

No, in the normal course of things, Alex had no use for humans and he stayed away from them the same way he avoided his own kind.

He circled around the building one more time before he settled himself in the shadows across the street. Alex wanted to get a look at him before he did anything; he had a name -Chris Sabin; which for some reason Alex couldn't quite grasp, sounded vaguely familiar to him- and a bare bones description; light brown hair and blue eyes. But Alex had learned a long time ago to trust no one but himself when it came to a hunt.

As he got ready for a long night, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

Chris watched the last customer leave and sighed in relief. He hated working the store; it was even more annoying then usual today. Usually, it wasn't too bad. Oh, he hated it, and it annoyed him beyond almost anything else, but he prided himself on keeping his temper. His self control was infallible and Chris had been known to step into the middle of a bar fight and break it up without even raising his voice.

But today he had to stop himself from snapping at people, over and over again. He'd felt antsy, uncomfortable in his own skin -and he wasn't happy about it. Any time he'd gotten a second alone, he felt like someone was watching him; it was a persistent itch in the back of his mind.

Chris was surprised that he was eager to find out who was watching him; he wanted to meet them face to face and find out what was going on. And considering who Petey had started doing business with, that was probably the dumbest thing Chris could have wanted.

But Chris found himself unable to change his mind; there were only two other people working that night and Chris sent them home early, so he was alone closing the shop. Instead of the usual ten or fifteen minutes it took, he managed to drag it out for almost forty five minutes. And he could feel whoever it was outside, getting closer.

Unable to delay any longer, Chris stepped outside and locked the store up, dropping the keys n his pocket and turning to leave.

He paused, instinctively seeking the shadows across the street. Chris knew that's where he was; the person watching him. He couldn't explain _how_ he knew, he just did. The same way he knew he had blue eyes -like it had always been a part of him and just as impossible to deny.

Even though he couldn't see, Chris was certain he locked eyes with whoever was watching him. He could feel it; his heart stopped and his breath caught in his throat. He could feel, for a second, a intense connection snap into place; a soul wrenching loneliness that wasn't his own, followed by a brief, possessive thought.

_**Mine. You're mine.**_

It was gone almost as soon as Chris registered it and he was left panting for breath, trying to process what just happened.

Alex had been waiting for the past few hours, with increasing impatience. It wasn't like him; when he was on a hunt, Alex could -and had- wait for hours with same patience as a cat waiting for a mouse.

This hunt was different, though, and if he had been more focused on it, it would have worried him. As it was, his mind kept wanting to wander -to what, he wasn't sure; every time he started to veer off the subject, he dragged his mind back ruthlessly.

Eventually, two people left the building, talking to themselves and looking over their shoulders nervously. Alex dismissed them after a glance; neither one of them were the one he was looking for.

Another forty five minutes and Alex could feel his blood start to heat, no matter how he tried to calm himself down.

Alex straightened when the front door opened and _he_ came out; his back to him, while he locked and bolted the entrance.

When he turned, his eyes went straight to where Alex was; despite the distance between them and the shadows that hid him, Alex felt their eyes meet. He inhaled sharply, vaguely aware that Chris was doing the same thing.

At first there was nothing there, just the usual blankness; then a connection that he had never experienced before -fierce and sharp, it burned itself into his brain before he could even register it was there. Warmth filled his soul and an unshakable desire for something he couldn't name. A brief thought went through his mind and it made his fangs peek out before he could control himself.

_**Mine. You're mine.**_

Their eyes held and if Alex had still been human, he would have been holding his breath. Out of desperation, he put his shields back up; he couldn't take all the emotion hitting him after so many years of nothing. The connection he had felt snap into place was still there but it was muted and Alex felt strangely bereft but there was no way he could relax his control on it. Not until he'd thought this through and found out what it meant.

He had unconsciously kept eye contact the whole time, unable to look away. After a minute, Chris started walking straight to him. Alex knew there was no way he could see him; his camouflage skills were unmatched, but still, he went right for him.

Debating for a second, Alex stepped a couple inches to the right, letting enough light hit him so that anyone could see where he was standing.

Chris arched an eyebrow when it seemed like the other man appeared out of no where. He looked him over greedily, feeling like he had been denied the sight of him for far too long all ready. Dark brown hair, long enough to hang in front of his eyes; he wasn't close enough yet to know for sure but something was telling Chris he had brown eyes. He was almost the same height as Chris; which put him at 5'10, maybe 5'11, he thought with amusement. A lanky build dressed in worn jeans and a comfortable t-shirt that hugged his shoulders and upper chest.

It was enough to make Chris's mouth water and he was suddenly dying to get his hands on him.

As Alex watched him get closer, he had the fleeting thought that he should beat whoever had given his Maker that description; for starters, Chris's hair wasn't light brown -or not only light brown, it had blond highlights that anyone would be able to see if they took the time. His eyes were a clear blue, light enough that Alex could see himself reflected in them. And his body... Well, it was good enough that Alex's palms itched just to get a brief feel.

But even when Chris stopped in front of him, he kept his hands at his sides. He didn't know what would happen if he touched him; he'd never reacted to anyone the way he was now and the idea of hurting Chris -even inadvertently- made him sick.

Chris stared at him for another minute before he cleared his throat.

"Hey, what's up? My name's Chris."

Alex studied him for a second, trying to decide if he should say anything when his subconscious opened his mouth for him.

"Alex," he told him, his voice low and unfriendly.

"Alex," Chris repeated, undaunted by his tone. Instead of saying anything else, he gave into the impulse that had been riding him since he stepped outside.

He leaned in, pausing to lick his lips and glance at Alex again. When he didn't say or do anything to stop him, Chris smirked and pressed his lips against Alex's. Alex tried to hold himself still, but he lost the battle when Chris bit his bottom lip and startled a moan out of him.

Immediately, Chris pressed his advantage, his tongue sweeping in to explore and claim every inch of Alex's mouth at the same time he pushed him until he was trapped in between the building and his body.

Alex was completely shocked by how much he liked the feel of Chris's body pressing him into the wall behind him; it was definitely a submissive position and he had never been one to enjoy that.

_-A brief flash of light, Alex kneeling down looking up at Shanne, his eyes wide at the sight of his fangs. Shanne shoving him over -_

Alex shoved the thought away with the ease of practice; now was not the time to be thinking about that particular memory. Instead, he let his hands move from his sides to run up over Chris's chest and rest on his shoulders.

At the first touch of Alex's hands, Chris shuddered and tangled one of his hands in Alex's hair and moved his head back so he could deepen the kiss even more.

Chris moaned; the taste of Alex's mouth was better then anything he could ever remember having. Right now, it didn't matter that he had a boyfriend, it didn't matter that said boyfriend had gone into business with psychotic vampires. The only thing that mattered was Alex's body against his and their mouths together.

Finally needing to breathe, Chris pulled back and stared down at him while his thumb rubbed circles on the side of Alex's neck. Chris dipped his head back down for another kiss, this one shorter as he ran his tongue along the tips of Alex's fangs; smirking when Alex groaned and fisted his hands in Chris's shirt.

Chris supposed he should be scared -and a small part of his brain was yelling at him to run as fast and far as he could go, but he completely ignored it. He knew this particular vampire wouldn't hurt him, no matter the circumstances might be.

When Chris pulled back the second time, Alex looked up at him, his eyes pure black. He couldn't understand why he was still standing there. His fangs were out, his eyes black and Chris hadn't run away; he had _licked_ his fangs.

Alex felt like he had stepped into some weird alternate reality or something because there was no way in a hell a human should be in this situation with him and not be terrified. And even though he could hear Chris's heart pounding, Alex couldn't smell any fear from him. The only thing he could smell was Chris's desire for him and it made his blood lust surge almost as fast as his dick had.

"Don't worry," Chris murmured, nuzzling Alex's jaw before he started leaving biting kisses down his neck. "I know you won't hurt me."

Alex hissed and jerked back when Chris's words registered. "Wait. What did you just say?"

Chris blinked, not understanding the question at first. "That you wouldn't hurt me," he finally answered before leaning back over Alex.

Alex pushed against his chest, amused by the irritated look on Chris's face despite the situation. "But _why_ did you say it?"

"I don't know," Chris admitted with a small frown. "You were afraid of hurting me, so I wanted to let you know I knew you wouldn't."

"But how did you know?" Alex persisted, determined to find out what the hell was going on. "How did you know that's what I was feeling? Jesus, how do you know it's true?"

"I don't know," Chris repeated, shrugging. He dismissed Alex's questions and tried to go back to what he had been doing before Alex interrupted him.

"Who the fuck cares? Fuck, do you have to over analyze everything, 'Lex?" Chris told him when he stopped Chris from kissing him again. It sounded like a familiar argument to him, like they'd had it a thousand times before. That alone made him stop and think about what was happening faster then any question the vampire had asked had.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Alex told him quietly, putting distance between the two of them. "What I've done. There's more blood staining my hands then you could ever imagine."

Chris sighed. "Look, I don't care about that," he said reaching out a hand to try and soothe Alex. "That was before, it doesn't matter to me."

"It should," Alex said, his voice flat as he moved away from Chris's hand. "I'm a monster. Stay away from me," he added as he walked away from Chris and disappeared into the shadows.

"Stay away from you?" Chris repeated, disbelief on his face. "You're the one who came here, jackass!"

When there was no answer, Chris let out a growl of frustration and headed towards his apartment.

The walk home wasn't very long, but it was long enough for Chris to think over the past couple minutes.

Whatever was going on with Alex, it was something that had never happened to him before. Chris didn't get attached to people very fast or often; he had been with Petey for a little over six months and the only thing Chris felt for him was the same abstract fondness he had felt when they had first started dating.

But already he felt this...pull towards Alex, this insane attraction that was even now pounding in his veins. And if it didn't feel right to him -if it didn't feel like this was where he was meant to be, who he was meant to be _with_- it might have scared the shit out of him.

But for all that Chris tended to remain in control and kept his distance, emotionally, from most people, he knew himself and he knew when he felt _something_ for someone, it wasn't likely to change. It might not be love yet, he thought wryly, but it wouldn't take much for it to turn into that.

That meant fighting against it was useless to him; railing against his feelings when he knew they weren't going to change was an exercise in futility to him and completely ridiculous. It would be wasting energy that would be better used in getting what he wanted.

And once Chris was sure of what he wanted, Alex didn't have a chance of holding out against him. The question then was: how did he find Alex again?

As he got closer to the apartment, Chris paused to dig the keys out of his pocket and realized someone was following him. There wasn't any noise that gave it away and no one said anything to him, but all of a sudden Chris _knew_ someone else was near him. He wasn't afraid; he knew it was Alex and something had told him Alex would never hurt him already. Since it was the same thing that told Chris they were meant to be together, he was inclined to believe it.

Feeling better now that he knew Alex was as caught up in this as he was, Chris grinned as he jogged up the front steps to his door.

Alex followed behind Chris, despite what he had told him earlier. He had tried to let him go but the minute Chris had been out of sight, Alex had been drawn to him; some instinct urging him to go after Chris, to make sure nothing attacked him.

Of course, now the most dangerous thing in the city was stalking him, so Alex wasn't sure how that made him safer then he was five minutes ago, but the panicked feeling in his chest subsided and now he could think again.

His first thought was, strangely enough, not to leave, but how he could protect Chris from Shanne. There was no doubt in Alex's mind that his Maker would be royally pissed once he learned Alex hadn't killed Chris; he would send someone else after him and then deal with Alex himself.

Alex knew he could distract Shanne for a few days by telling him he had decided he wanted to hunt Chris; Alex hadn't hunted anyone in decades, so he figured his Maker would be thrilled at this sign that Alex was behaving the way he thought a vampire should.

Alex watched Chris run up the steps and felt his dick stir against his jeans when the wind blew Chris's scent in his direction. Even as he tried to calm himself down, Alex circled around the building, noting all the windows and doors by habit.

Walking towards the back, he caught the faint scent of Chris mixed with someone else's. A low growl rumbled in Alex's chest as he struggled to keep himself from going inside. After a minute he was able to think again; even as he reminded himself that he had no business getting pissy about who Chris was sharing a bed with, Alex decided to stay in the shadows by the bedroom.

Chris closed the door and kicked off his shoes before he headed into the kitchen. Looking around, he noticed that Petey's jacket wasn't hanging up. Chris sighed in relief; he knew he was going to have to talk to him, but he wasn't looking forward to explaining why he was dumping him for a vampire that he had just met a couple hours earlier.

Chris sighed again and decided to take a shower to try and help himself relax a little. He walked into the bathroom, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor and started running the water, making sure it was as hot as he could get it.

Standing under the hot water, Chris gradually relaxed a little. Until he talked to Petey, there was no use in getting worked up about it. Maybe he'd get lucky and Petey wouldn't demand he take his shit and get the fuck out. It wouldn't be the first time he'd crashed on a friends couch, he mused as he washed up. If he wanted Alex -and he did, with an eagerness that was bordering desperate- then he would deal with whatever he had to, to get what he wanted. And, without a doubt, what he wanted was Alex.

At that thought, Chris felt his dick twitch. He had been half hard since Alex had left, so it didn't take much to make his cock stand at full attention. When Chris remembered the feel of Alex pressed up against his body, he shuddered.

Moving slightly, Chris braced his left hand against the tiles and let his right hand skim down his chest before wrapping his fingers around the base.

Moaning, he pictured Alex staring up at him; his eyes black with lust, lips swollen -with just the tips of his fangs showing. He moved his hand faster, rubbing his thumb over the tip, letting out a groan at the sensation. He could feel the familiar heat pooling in his stomach -

"Chris! Where are you?"

Chris started at the sound of his name; for a brief second he had imagined it was _Alex_ calling for him, but the next words had completely destroyed that little fantasy. Hissing in frustration, he turned off the water and pushed his hair off his face. He indulged and let himself think of Alex again but after a minute, he climbed out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist before he went into the bedroom.

"In here," Chris called out, going to his dresser to pull out a pair of jogging pants. He tossed them onto the bed and paused by the window. For some reason, he knew Alex was outside; knew he was out there, watching him.

He rested his hands against the glass and searched the backyard for any sign of the vampire but all he could see was grass and the sky.

"Damn it, 'Lex, I know you're there," Chris muttered, his hands clenched into fists.

"There you are," Petey said cheerfully, coming into the room. "How was the store?"

"Fine," Chris answered absently, his eyes still on the backyard; he did hear the note of concern in Petey's voice, though, and it made him wonder. "Where were you?"

"Oh, I had to stop and talk to some..business partners," Petey answered, wrapping his arms around Chris's waist and resting his chin on Chris's shoulder. "Sorry I'm late. Too bad you took a shower already; I could have joined you for some fun."

Chris grimaced; for some reason, Petey touching him made his skin crawl but before he could say or do anything, there was a low, rumbling growl from outside that got steadily deeper and more menacing the longer it went on.

"What the hell is that?" Petey asked, unconsciously hugging Chris tighter.

"I don't know," Chris lied, twisting away from Petey's hold. He had a feeling he knew exactly what was growling at him. "I'll go check it out; it's probably just a cat or something."

He went over to the bed and changed into his pants before he walked out of the room, leaving Petey staring after him in bemusement.

Chris didn't even bother stopping for shoes before he went out the back door. He headed for the shadows towards the side of the house, by the bedroom. He glanced in the window as he went past but Petey had already left the room.

"'Lex, where the hell are you?" Chris called out, careful to keep his voice down. "I know you're out here, asshole."

"That's not very nice," Alex told him, a slight growl still in his voice. He was a few feet in front of Chris.

"What was that all about?" Chris asked him, walking over to him and closing the last few feet separating them. He wanted to reach over and touch him, but he was very aware of the fact that Petey was in the house; if he happened to come out here and see the two of them... Someone was bound to get hurt that way and Chris wanted to avoid that scenario if it was at all possible.

"I didn't like seeing him put his hands on you," Alex admitted quietly after a minute. "It made me see red and I could have cheerfully ripped out his throat in that second.

"That's never happened before," he added, looking confused for a second before his expression smoothed out. "I never get that possessive of anyone; even people I've already slept with."

Chris tried to keep his face blank, but his hands curled into fists at the thought of anyone else going near Alex.

"Well, you've got nothing to worry about, 'Lex; the idea of anyone else touching me makes my skin crawl." Chris said, his voice bland.

Alex looked at him sharply, his mind racing; there was no way that was true -it didn't happen to vampires.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked, automatically shifting closer to him, trying to make sure he could protect him if he had to.

"Nothing," Alex answered, smiling slightly when he saw the look of disbelief on Chris's face. "Nothing I want to talk about right now, anyway; let me think about it for a while and then I'll tell you."

Chris nodded, glancing over his shoulder when Petey called his name.

"You better get back," Alex said, his eyes black. "Before he comes out here."

"Yeah," Chris agreed, sighing and running his hand through his hair. "You'll come back tomorrow?"

Alex tried to tell himself that he'd be staying as far away from Chris as he could, but he knew it was a lie. "At some point," he said, turning to leave.

"Don't let him touch you," Alex warned, his voice tight. He didn't turn around; he was afraid if he watched Chris walk back into the house, he would lose the little control he had left and kill Chris's boyfriend before dragging Chris back to his place.

"My control is fucked around you for some reason and if I found out he put his hands on you.." He let it trail off and continued walking even though everything inside of him was telling him to go back and claim what was supposed to be his.

Chris watched him leave and had to fight every instinct that was screaming at him to go after him. Petey called again and Chris forced himself to turn around and go back inside.

Once Alex was back at his Maker's, he headed straight for where he knew Shanne would be at this time of night -the basement.

"Ah, Alexander, you've finished your job," Shanne said, turning away from the human kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Alex glanced at the human, noticing the multiple bite wounds and the glazed look in his eyes; Shanne had found his toy for the night; at least he had been decent enough to glamour him.

"Not yet, Maker," Alex murmured respectfully, keeping his eyes off of the human. "I wanted to ask you if you would indulge me and let me hunt the new human for a little while -maybe lure him away from his friend before I kill him."

"You want a game, Alexander? I admit, I'm surprised by this," Shanne told him, absently patting the human on the head before he gave his full attention to the other vampire. "It's been decades since you've enjoyed the thrill of the chase.

"But how could I deny you this? You've never asked me for a boon before and since it's something so inconsequential, I won't even ask for something in return."

"Thank you, Maker," Alex said, bowing his head and slowly starting to back away. "I'll leave you to your entertainment."

He felt some pity for the human; Alex knew how the night was going to end for him and he only hoped it would end quick -and that Shanne left the glamour in place until the end.

Once he was out the door, Alex left as fast he could without looking suspicious. When he was outside, he paused for a minute before he headed towards the south side of the city; it was the only place he knew of to get some answers about what was going on with Chris.

Chris closed the door behind him and leaned against it while he tried to get his mind back on track.

"Hey, is everything OK?" Petey asked, concern lacing the question.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chris answered wearily. "I need to talk to you, though."

An hour later, Chris was sitting on the couch with most of his shit piled into the corner. He had a headache, Petey was beyond pissed at him and he was going to be homeless in a few days. But for some reason, he couldn't help smiling at the thought that now there was nothing to stop him from getting Alex.

Alex walked into the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd, noting the handful of humans sitting in the corner.

As he sat down, the bartender wandered over and gave him a friendly smile; Alex could see his eyes were shot with yellow, though, and there was an underlying snarl to his words when he asked Alex if he wanted a drink.

"Can I talk to Joe?" Alex asked, polite enough but he kept his gaze level on the werewolf's in case he started thinking that he was dominant to Alex.

"Why would our Alpha want to talk to you, vampire?" The bartender rumbled out, his power flickering over Alex.

Before Alex could do more then raise an eyebrow, a door behind the bar opened and a large werewolf came towards them, a smile on his face.

He clapped the bartender on the back and Alex saw him wince before he moved away from them.

"Alex, what the fuck are you doing in my side of town?" Joe asked cheerfully. He grinned but Alex could see the wariness under the smile.

Alex didn't fault him for it; under any other circumstances if he showed up here it would be on his Maker's orders and that wouldn't have been good for either one of them. Joe and Shanne had a very shaky truce; the most powerful vampire and the most powerful wolf pack in the state had enough sense to not destroy said territory with their fighting. But there wasn't a lot of trust between them and it wouldn't take much to start a fight.

"I wanted to ask you something," Alex told him truthfully. He met Joe's eyes long enough to let him know he wasn't afraid of him and then lowered his eyes respectfully.

"Is it for you?" Joe asked, his voice bland.

"Yeah, Shanne doesn't even know I'm here," Alex answered, glancing around the bar before looking at Joe again. "It's personal."

Joe raised an eyebrow at that, but walked from behind the bar.

"I'll be outside," he called out, as he motioned Alex to go in front of him.

"Alpha, I don't think -" One of his pack started to say before Joe turned to him, his eyes turning yellow and his power flaring through the room. All the wolves present flinched and hurried to show their necks; even Alex had to admit Joe was one of the most powerful people he'd ever met.

"The day I want you to think for me, _kefe_, I'll be dead and in the ground. Understand?" Joe said, his voice deadly.

The other wolf nodded, dropping to his knees and showing his neck in a matter of seconds. Joe stared at him for another minute before turning and walking out the door.

"Sorry, man; most wolves don't like vampires," Joe told him, leaning against the building. "What can I do for you, Alex?"

Alex hesitated for a minute; his natural instincts to keep things to himself warred with his desire to know what the hell was going on.

After telling himself that he had come to Joe for a reason, Alex explained everything that happened in a few short, terse sentences.

Joe was silent for a long minute and then he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Alex scowled, frowning at the obvious amusement.

"You got caught, Alex," Joe said, calming down enough to talk to the vampire. "You found your mate and that's all that matters to you now."

"Vampires don't mate," Alex said, forcing himself to stay calm. "And he's human."

"Wolves can mate with humans," Joe informed him, still smiling. "It happens more often then you'd think; there are more humans then wolves, after all.

"I'll admit that I've never heard of a vampire having a mate before," Joe went on, looking at Alex with curiosity. "But obviously it's possible. What you're describing to me is the mating heat, right down to the fact that you want to fuck him into next week."

"Something like that," Alex muttered, his mind racing as he tried to process what had happened to him; what _was_ happening.

"You want to submit to him?" Joe asked shrewdly, interest on his face.

"That's definitely proof that he's your mate," Joe assured him, ignoring the glare Alex sent him. "You're dominant -and dominant enough that if you were a wolf you'd be alphic- and there's no other way you'd submit to someone like that without knowing them _and_ having them prove their dominance to you.

"Also, Alex, I hate to be the one to point this out, but you've shown more emotion in the past ten minutes then you have the whole time I've known you. If that doesn't tell you something, you're dumber then I thought."

"But I can't, Joe," Alex told him, his voice firm; but Joe could hear a fine edge of desperation to his words. "No one should be with me; I'm not good. There's a mistake -there has to be."

"Mating's not like marriage or anything else," Joe said quietly, understanding in his voice. "Mate's are tied to our souls, to our very beings. There's no mistake; he's your other half. There's no one else for you now."

"Vampires don't have souls, Joe," Alex said, his fists clenched. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to go to Chris; just to see him, be around him. The thought scared the shit out of him and made his next words harsh.

"Especially me. Do you know the things I've done? The people I've killed? Being tied to me is the worst thing that could happen to him. For his own sake, I have to stay away from him."

"You might think it's the best thing but are you willing to risk his well being for it?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow at the growl that rumbled in Alex's chest before he could stop it. "Because if you continue to fight the mating, it'll get worse; the aggression, the hostility. In a few months, you'll kill anyone who looks at him.

"And it'll be just as bad for him. Trust me, Alex, and go to him. This is your fate -and the price you pay for fighting what was meant to be is never worth it."

Joe turned to go in and paused at the door to look at him.

"I don't know what you've done, Alex, but I know someone who took the time to bring a terrified wolf pup home isn't all bad; especially when he knew going into wolf territory meant there was a chance he'd get killed before he could say anything."

With those last words, Joe went into the bar and left Alex alone with his thoughts.

Chris paced around the backyard; he felt like he had been waiting for something all day and it was driving him crazy. He knew what he was waiting for and he didn't know what pissed him off more: the fact that he was mooning over a guy like a teenage girl or that it was slowly becoming apparent to him that whatever the fuck was going on, Alex didn't feel it the way he did.

Even as he told himself to calm down, he saw Alex at the edge of his vision. Taking a deep breath, he felt everything inside of him settle down; he felt like himself for the first time in a day and half, and he felt happier seeing Alex now then he could ever remember being to see anyone else in his life.

As he watched Alex get closer, Chris tried to resent him for making him feel this way, but he couldn't. The only thing he wanted was toss Alex onto the ground and fuck him into next week.

Alex stopped in front of him and they stared at each other for what seemed like hours before Alex spoke.

"Hey, we need to talk."

"What if I don't want to talk?" Chris asked, his voice husky. "What if that's the last thing I want to fucken do?"

He turned around and walked back inside Petey's apartment. He knew Alex followed him inside, despite the fact that he didn't make any noise; Chris could _feel_ Alex looking him over hungrily and he smirked to himself -maybe getting what he wanted wouldn't be as hard as he had assumed it would be.

"What's going on?" Alex asked when he saw a bunch of clothes and other things littered on one side of the living room floor.

"Petey kicked me out," Chris answered quietly, his eyes never leaving Alex's. "I'm going to stay at my friend's until I can get my own place."

Alex felt a surge of desire at the words and even as he tried to control himself, he could feel his dick get hard and his fangs extend. Although, he reflected briefly, he had been half hard since he had left Chris, so it wouldn't have taken much to get him the rest of the way there.

Chris inhaled sharply and made a mental note to make Alex show his fangs whenever he got a chance because, hell, it was the hottest thing he'd ever seen.

Even as Chris started towards him, Alex held up a hand to stop him. "We need to talk," he repeated; his eyes narrowed when Chris grabbed his waist and started backing him up until he felt his back hit the wall.

"We can talk later," Chris growled, bending his head to take Alex's mouth in a rough kiss. Pulling back, he bit Alex's neck hard enough to make Alex moan and shudder.

"I'm fucken serious," Alex managed to gasp out, even as he ripped off Chris's shirt and tossed the shreds of fabric onto the floor.

Chris didn't bother saying anything, just kissed him again; running his tongue over Alex's fangs before he moved away enough to pull Alex's shirt over his head.

Alex moaned and tried to remember what had seemed important enough to stop this earlier, but his mind was blank.. He let his hands roam over Chris's exposed skin.

"Have to tell you later," he muttered, tugging on Chris's hair to pull him closer for another kiss.

"Uh-huh," Chris said absently, kissing his jaw. "Whatever you want."

Alex gave in at that point; he didn't want to fight this thing with Chris any more. He decided to just follow what he wanted for once and trust that Chris was right when he said he wouldn't hurt him.

Moving fast, Chris managed to get Alex onto the floor before he realized what happened.

While Alex tried to figure out how the fuck a _human_ got the drop on him like that, Chris snaked his hand daring at own the front of Alex's pants and bit down on his neck at the same time.

Even as he moaned and arched up into Chris's touch, Alex's hands started tearing at Chris's jeans, desperate to feel the rest of his skin against him.

"Fuck, 'Lex," Chris panted, moving to his knees and getting Alex's jeans off as fast as he could before he stood up long enough to get out of the pieces of material that had once been his pants and boxers.

Chris dropped back down to his knees, looking at Alex for minute before he stared pressing biting kisses all over Alex's neck and shoulders.

"Hurry up," Alex hissed when Chris knelt in between in Alex's legs and ran his hands up Alex's thighs. "I don't want to wait any more."

Smirking, Chris briefly sucked on the first two fingers of his right hand to wet them and then he roughly kissed Alex as his first finger pressed against Alex's entrance. Despite himself, Alex tensed up, instinctively reacting the way he always had in the past.

Sensing there was something wrong besides normal nerves, Chris pulled back and after looking at Alex for a second, he pressed a gentle kiss to Alex's cheek.

"We can switch if you want," Chris murmured soothingly, kissing along Alex's jawline. "It doesn't matter to me; I just want to be with you."

Alex closed his eyes for a minute before he turned his head and caught Chris's lips in a hungry kiss. "I want it this way, Chris; I need it like this."

After a second, Chris nodded, accepting Alex's words. It wasn't hard; for some reason, Chris's own instincts were screaming at him to top their first time together and his body was eager to follow them.

Deciding that distracting Alex would be the best plan, Chris captured his lips in another kiss while he worked his finger inside of Alex's body.

Once it was all the way in, he started biting the side of Alex's neck, he started thrusting his finger in and out of Alex's slowly relaxing body.

Alex moaned as Chris bit his shoulder at the same time Chris's fingers brushed against his prostate. He started rolling his hips, trying to get more of Chris's fingers. He fisted his hands in Chris's hair, pulling him close enough so that Alex could kiss him hard enough for Chris to get the idea that it was OK to start getting rougher.

Chris got the message; he quickly worked another finger in and without waiting for Alex to adjust, he started finger fucking him, fast and rough. Alex groaned, his hands tightening in Chris's hair briefly before he dropped them onto the carpet, momentarily remembering that he was stronger then Chris was.

"Chris," he moaned, suddenly remembering something else. "I might bite you."

"Go ahead," Chris told him, pulling his fingers free. "I've been biting you almost non stop."

"Motherfucker," Chris managed to ground out as he carefully pushed inside of him. "Holy fuck. _Fuck_."

When he was finally all the way in, Chris barely waited a minute before he was pulling out and slamming back into Alex as hard as he could. When Alex moaned loudly and started meeting his thrusts, Chris redoubled his efforts, wanting to hear Alex make as much noise as possible.

Chris shifted his weight onto his left hand and slipped his right in between their bodies to wrap around Alex's leaking cock. Alex groaned, his hands clenching in the carpet and ripping out pieces of it.

"I won't last long," Alex rasped, his voice husky. "I'm already close."

When he moaned again, Chris remembered what he had said earlier. He shifted closer to Alex, making sure his shoulder was by Alex's mouth. Feeling Alex start to tighten around his ass, Chris braced himself; he was sure it was going to hurt at least a little bit.

But when Alex buried his teeth in the curve of Chris's shoulder, all Chris felt was pleasure. Complete and mind numbing pleasure that was shaded with a quiet certainty that he belonged here with Alex.

When Chris finally blinked his eyes open, he realized he was laying on top of Alex. "Sorry," he mumbled, brushing a lazy kiss across Alex's mouth before he pulled out of him and rolled onto his left side.

"It's alright," Alex assured him, smiling when Chris raised an eyebrow at him. "It doesn't matter if you're a fatass or not, I don't really need to breathe."

"Ha ha," Chris said sarcastically, flicking Alex's nose. "So, you wanted to talk about something?"

"Oh, _now_ you want to talk?" Alex mocked him, shifting so he was laying on his side, facing the other man.

"Well, yeah," Chris scoffed, gently shoving Alex. His shoulder twinged a little but he ignored it; finally being this close to Alex and being able to touch and talk to him however he wanted felt like a dream come true. "Now that we've both gotten off, we can move onto to the less important things."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle before he explained to Chris what Joe had told him the night before.

As Chris listened to Alex explain about werewolves and mates, he started frowning. It wasn't that he was unhappy or pissed about it; what Alex was saying just confirmed what he already knew -he loved Alex and it was going to stay that way for the rest of his life. The reason why he felt this way wasn't nearly as important to him as the end result was.

As the endorphins faded from Chris's body, his shoulder was starting to bother him more; the sharp stabbing pain was distracting him from what Alex was saying.

He tried to sit up, unable to stop the groan that left when the movement jarred his shoulder and made it throb even more.

"Chris, are you alright?" Alex asked, concerned. He sat up and moved closer so he could help Chris stay upright.

"I'm fine," Chris told him, trying to reassure his mate. "Must have pulled a muscle or something, that's all."

Alex's eyes narrowed and he gently ran his fingers over Chris's right shoulder, trying to access the damage. After a second, a look of self-loathing crossed his face and he tried to pull away from Chris. Chris latched his left hand onto Alex's thigh and squeezed as hard as he could.

"Let me go," Alex said, his voice empty. "I broke your collar bone; in the middle of sex, I bit you hard enough to break your bones. I hurt you. Let me go!"

The last word was snarled at Chris, Alex's anger at himself, making his fangs show and his eyes darken. Despite the fact that his shoulder was screaming with pain, Chris just looked unconcerned at the enraged vampire next to him.

"No," Chris said simply, raising an eyebrow when Alex growled at him. "Shut up. The only thing you're accomplishing by growling like that is getting me hard.

"I'm not letting you go and you're not running away the minute I'm sleeping. You're going to stay here, we're going to talk about this and that's the end. Understand me? I don't have the energy right now to be chasing you all around fucken town, you huge fucken pain in my ass."

Alex gaped at him, taken by surprise when he realized Chris really wasn't scared of him. "But I hurt you," he repeated quietly, unable to get past that simple fact.

"Yeah, but it was an accident," Chris reminded him, his hand starting to massage Alex's thigh comfortingly. "And it happened during sex, so it gives me bragging rights from now until forever about how fucken great I am in bed."

Alex smiled weakly and then sighed. Regardless of whether Chris was mad at him, it was still his fault but at least he could help heal him.

He bit his wrist and when Chris looked at him in confusion, he held it to Chris's mouth and explained, "It'll help heal you; vampire blood has special healing properties. Where it would take you weeks for the bone to heal, it'll only take a few hours with my blood speeding up the process."

"That's handy," Chris murmured before he sealed his mouth against the self inflicted bite on Alex's wrist.

Alex hissed in pleasure at the feel of Chris drinking from him. After a minute, Alex pulled him away gently, smirking when he saw the dazed look in Chris's eyes.

"Damn, 'Lex," Chris said, his words slightly slurring. "That shit's better then drugs."

Alex shook his head in amusement but before he could say anything, Chris let out a huge yawn.

"You should sleep," Alex told him, trying to get him to lay back down on the floor. "You're body's using up a ton of energy right now."

"Only if you do, too," Chris said stubbornly. "And don't leave. Promise me."

Alex raised an eyebrow; apparently Chris turned into a petulant child when he was tired and hurt.

"I won't leave," Alex promised easily; despite his earlier words, he had no desire to leave Chris -even if it might have been the best thing for him.

Finally conceding to Alex's urging, Chris laid down on his side, sighing in contentment when Alex curled up behind him and put his arm around his waist, careful to avoid hitting his arm.

"You ripped my clothes," Chris pointed out randomly, his eyes already closed. "And the carpet. Petey's gonna be pissed."

"Fuck, Petey," Alex said easily, trying to keep the possessive growl out of his voice at the mention of Chris's ex boyfriend. "And I didn't hear you complaining."

"Not complaining," Chris mumbled right before he started snoring.

Alex smiled; for the first time in his life, he felt happy. They might have a lot to deal with still, but Alex knew they were going to do it the way they should do everything from now on: together.


End file.
